The effects of applying time management skills on the work-family conflict and work - family enrichment in pre-hospital emergency technicians

Introduction: Work-family conflict is a common problem among pre-hospital emergency technicians. The present study investigates the effects of applying time management skills on family-work conflict and work-family enrichment in pre-hospital emergency technicians. Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, eight emergency bases located in Birjand, Iran, were divided into two blocks: block A and block B (4 bases in each block). The two blocks were then randomly assigned to intervention and control groups, and 30 participants were selected from each block. Participants in both groups completed a demographic form, the work-family conflict scale, and the work-family enrichment scale. An eight-hour workshop on time management was held in one day for the intervention group. Immediately after the intervention and one month later, the two groups completed the study instruments. Data were entered into SPSS (version 19) for analysis. The independent t-test, repeated measures analysis of variance, and Bonferroni's post hoc test were applied for statistical data analysis. A P-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Regarding work-family conflict, family-work conflict, and total conflict, there was significantly more improvement from before the intervention to one month after the intervention in the intervention group compared to the control group (P<0.001). Improvement in work-family enrichment, family-work enrichment, and total work-family enrichment from before intervention to immediately after it in the intervention group was higher than in the control group (P<0.001). In the intervention group, family-work enrichment and work-family enrichment improvement from before intervention to one month after intervention were significantly higher than in the control group (P<0.001). Conclusion: Applying time management skills is an effective tool to improve work-family conflict and work-family enrichment in pre-hospital emergency technicians.